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2 sHEETss'HEET 1.

Patented Aug. 5. 1919.

, &c.

G. P. McDONNELL.

APPLICATION FILED DCT. I0. IQIB.

lSIGNALING SEALING DEVICE FOR VALVES g INSULAT TMB COLUMBIA lumuu G. P. MCDUNNELL.

SIGNALING SEALING DEVICE FOR VALVES, 61e.

APPLICATION FILED ocr. I0. 191s.

F'Ig/ D F1931. 5' 3\ A IZ I5 41mm S G Q O 4 mmwrok. n 'MIM GGO. P. MQ DOTIHGU BY y@ f TTRJYEYS- GEORGE"riivronoivivnnn, or srl" Louis,` Missounr.

t sieivamne sniinine DEVICE rolt vnnvns; ag.

isiaiei.

Specification of Letters `liaitent.`

` Patenten Auge; 1919.

Application iiiedootober 1o, 191s. aerienne 257,617." il H To allwhom t may concern:

Be itknovvn that I, Geenen BVMGDONNLL, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, a resident of the city `of St. LouisyState of Missouri, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Signaling Sealing Del vices for Valves, &c.,`of which the following is a full, clear, and `exact description, reference being had to theaccompanyingdravvings, forming a part of thisspecification.`

This invention relates to improvementsin signaling sealing devices, and thepreferred forni of the inventioncomprises a""sealing member forming a quiclfdetachable fastening1 for the article to be sealed, and a signal or alarm under the control `of said sealing member. The alarm or `signal is preferably actuated in response to movements of an electric switch under thecontrol of the sealing member.` 'lo'breal` the seal, the sealing member is moved to `an abnormal position relative to the`svvitch,`and this-resulte inthe actuation of the alarm "or y that the seal hasbeenbroken.` p,

Devices of this kind are ,particularly signal indicating adapted foruse in sealingthe Water` supplyl valves of automatic fire sprinkler system.` Such valves are normally open `tofpermitthe flow of Water Whenever the automatic sprin-` kler heads are opened. In the maintenance of automatic fire sprinkler systems many precautions are usually taken togretain the l Water supply valves in their openpositions,"`

for if a valveis closedthe Water cannot flow tothe sprinklers in the line leading thereto.

It is customary to frequently inspect]l the valves, and ordinary seals have been usedl to seal the valves in their open' positions. It is also old to use, instead cfa seah'an alarm l automatically in response y y g ings `wherein is-shoWn the preferredembodif which is operated p to movements of the valve.'

The device to be hereinafter described comprises a seal forming` a readily "detachf` able fastening for the valve operating membei', and an alarmor signal 4. actuatedauto-- inatically whenever the Sealis breken, the

valve being normally sealed in "its" openjposiL tion, and the alarm being actuatedl during" theoperation ofbreakingthe seal.

One of the objects ofjthe inventionis' to provide a simple device of this kind adapted` y appliejdto the valve, orI other I .y 1 y y i FigjIIIWisa vertical section onthe linew III-IIL` Fig. IVyshoWing theautoinatic` 110 to be easil4 article tobe sealed. i

Another object is to provide an electric sealing device including a closed` electric cir- Acuit and an alarm, or signal, tobeactuated unto appended. 1 i

Whenever the circuit isopened.` The closed circuit preferably vincludes aj switch and the sealingtmember `retains this `*switch iiiits closed position. Whenthe sealing member" is moved tto-break the seal,the svvitchmoves` to its openposition, thus opening the` circuit and actuating-the alarm. f If the electric cir`- cuitis accidentally opened at anyplace, for

instance, by corrosionof the switch terminals,o1 by `accid ental breakage of `one f o-f i the conductors, thealarm Will 'beactuateil.` For this reason,1 the `elementsforming` the y closed circuit require verylittleinspection:l Furthermore, an unauthorized person may f attempt to avoidactuation of thev alarm, by"

first Cuttig the Wires leading" fromthe de- Vice and then breaking thefseal.

to use fthe valve sealing member asa `means condition;

Another objectfis to `prevent the y sealing In this event,the'operation of cuttingthe Wireswill open the' electric circuit and resultv` inthe actuation of the alarm; I, therefore, "prefer" device from being lreadilyuor quickly restored after ithas been moved t0 bileak the seal. `When`the sealisbrolen the valve can be operated,butthesignal or alarm will be effective until the sealing member isrestoredl To compel `the actuation of the alarm fora considerable period i of time, I preferably provide a" device Withlanautomatic shutter which prevents immediate restoration of the' i Sealing device `after it has been moved to actuate the alarm.

With the foregoingaiid otherobjects in View the invention comprises the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts y hereinafter inore speciiicallydescribed and illustrated in the accompanying dravvment i of the invention ;rhoWeve`r, it `is i `to be understood that the invention comprehends changes, Variations and `modiiications which -ioo p come Within thescope of the fclaims here` Figure I is a front elevation showing i the a valve; l

shutter ,for closing tl'ieopeninginto vvhich the sealing pin isi'nserted.

Fig. IV is a vertical section on the line IVIV, Fig. II, Vlooking toward the front of the switch housing.

Fig. V is a diagrammatical viewv yof .the

device showing a normally closed circuit underthe controlof the sealing device.

Fig. VIVis'a diagrammatical view illustrating a normally open circuit under the control of the sealing device.

5 'Io illustrate the invention I vhave shown (Fig. I)l water supply 'pipe A yprovided with a valve B hav-ing Van operating wheel C which may be. turned for the purpose of opening and closing the valve.V The sealing'- device Vpreferaliilfycomprises a shackle D in the for-In of a I'chain permanently vsecured to the valve operati-ng :member C, and provided n at one endgiwith an elongated loop, or link 1.

2v designates a lixed staple vadapted- .to receive the-link 1,' as shown by Figs. I, IV and V, and-3 kdesignates a sealingk pin adapted to be inserted' through the staple-2 for the purpose of securing'the link. It will -now be "alarm being actuated in response to move-V ments of the switch. The switch housing is provided-with Ainternal flanges land a closure 5 'secured to said flanges by means of vscrews 6. fIlo exclude water, .or moisture,

romthe switch housing, gasket-S7V are prei- Y erably interposed between the closure 5 .and

the flanges-1,. A.The notched heads of the screws 6 are exposed V-at the exterior of the honsifngand the closure 5 may be removed when the screws 6 are removed from the flanges 4. c i

An insulating block 8 secured to the closure 5 by means of screws '9, is provided with Wings v8. The .normally closed electric Vsv'vit'cli 'comprises a fixed contact member 10 'and 'a movable-contact member 11, both of l which are secured to the insulator 8. A conductor 12 is.secnred to the lix-ed Contact member 10, Vand -a conductor 1.3 is secured yrtothe movable contact member 11., las shown rerably reduced and covered with insulating in rFig's. II, IV and V. The Yconductors 12 and 13 pass through a pipe l secured to the bottom of the swiftch housing. l The inner end .portion ofthe sealing pin 3 is pref- Inaterial 3", 4'(:F'igs-II and IV). The inevable contact member 11 is fpret'arablyl made of spring material, and it has a bowed por- 4tion :adapted to be engaged by .the 'insulation lSon the sealing rIhis movable j con-tact member 1.14 tends to spring away from the fixed Contact 10, but the switch is normally held in its closed position by the sealing pin 3, which lies between the movable contact member 11 and the wing S on the insulating blockS. The end ot the sealing pin is preferably pointed so that it can y be easily inserted between the contact incinber 11 and wing 8 with the result ot closing the switch. The sealing pin 3 may bc connected to the switch housing by means of a chain 1l, as shown in Fig. I.

The alarm, or signal, shown in Fig. V, is an electric bell 15, to which conductors 1G and 17 are connected, the conductor 17 bcing provided with a.v battery 1S. The bell circuit also includes a contact member 1(3, and a ContactA member in the form of a lever 1S towhich the conductor 17 is electrically connected. The lever 18 is pivoted at 1S), and a weak tension spring 2O tends to move said lever 18 into engagement with the contact member 16. However, the bell circuit is normallyropen between the contact 16 andlever 18. To retain the lever 18 in the posi-tion shown in Fig. V, I preferably ntiliZe a relay comprising an electro-magnet 21 having a core 22, and one end oi the lever 18 forms an armature which is normally attracted to the core 22. The winding of the electro-magnet 21 is in the closed circuit including, the conductors 12 and 13, and the Switch members 10 and 11. This closed circuit is normally energized by a battery 23. It is to be understood, however, that any suitable sourcev of electricity may be usedy to energize the electrical elements herein shown.

Under normal conditions, the sealing pin 3 and the electrical elements occupy the positions shown by Fig. V. ,The switch 10-11 is held in its closed position by the sealing pin, and the electro-magnet 21 is energized to retain the lever 1S out of engagement with contact 16. When the sealing pin 3 is withdrawn from the yielding contact member 11, the latter will spring away from the ixed contact 10, thereby opening the switch and stopping the transmission of enorgy to the electro-magnet 21. The tension spring 20 (Fig. V) will then move lever 1S into engage-ment with contact 16', thus closing the bell circuit to `actuate the alarm. Therefore, when the sealing pin is withdrawn from the staple 2 for the purpose of' unlocking the valve, the `alarm will be actuated,. and it will be effective until the contact member 10 is again engaged with the contact 11.

To prevent the. quick restoration olE the sealing pin. I preferably arrange in the switch housing an automatic shutter which closes the opening through which the sealing pin is insert-ed into the housing. The shutter-.25 is pivoted at 26, and it tends to drop by .gravity to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. III. However, under normal. conditions, `the shutter occupies the position shown by full lines lin Figs; III

and IV, and it is held in this open position by engaging the sealinglpin 3. 4When theI seal is brokenby the removal ofthe sealing pin, the shutter 25`drops to its closed position `and it then prevents the sealing pin from being inserted into Itheihousinv. To replace the sealing` pin it is necessary to re-` move the screws 6 whereby the yclosure` is secured, and it isfalso `necessary to remove said closure and tolift the shutter 25 to a position entirely above the path `of the seal ing pin. When the `shutter Vis held in this position thesealing pin cani-be inserted into the switch housin t 1 It will also be observed that the normally closed switch l0-.ll is secured to the insulating block 8, and thats said block is secured to the closure 5. If `an. attemptwismadeto remove'the closure for the purpose of tame pering with the contentso the liousing,the normally closed switch will: be removed with the closure, and thereby separated f from the sealing pin Inthis eventwthe yielding4 contact 11 will spring to itsiopen position sol l as to actuate the alarm,`as previously pointV` The electrical elements can be very easily tested by withdrawing the sealingV pin t 3 f far enough to release itfromlthe yieldingron'-v tact il, thereby opening the switch. This" can bedone without entirelyremoving the` sealing pin, and without actuating thewslmt-` The` modification shown in Fig. VI com prises a sealing pin a `normally interposed between a fixed contactmemberll and a movable Contact member 10'.; The contact member l0 tends to spring intoengagement with the eontaetll, butl'these com "tacts are normally separated by the insu-` lated portion of the pin 3a; `An alarm l5 is connected to conta-cts land 11* byimeans oi' conductors 16a and 17a, respectively. The

alarm maybe energized by battery 18. When the pin 3st iswithdrawn romthe contacts, the contactlO springs into engagement with the contact 11, thereby closing the eireutand perm-ttingthebattery 18 to .energize the alarm 15.

articleyand an3 autdmatie closurefor `said opening preventing `the restoration oi" said sealing mcmberafter it has been withdrawn from said housingal 1 3. In a signaling sealing device, an alarm, anelectric switch controllingsaid alarm, a housing inclosing said electric switch, al seal ing member extending into said housing to detachably tasten `the article to be sealed, said sealing `member' 'being removl-ible `i'rmn said `housing` to unseal said article, said electric switch beingunder the controlot said sealingl member, andmeans :for preventing the restoration of saidsealingmember afterit has been withdrawn ytrom said heus` ing l 1 4. In a `signaling' sealing device,` an alarm, an "electric switch coiitrolling said alarm, a lionsinginclosing sail electric switeh,a`sealino; member extendinginto said housing to detaclia-blywfasten thearticle to sealed,v said sealing member `being removableiirom` said housing to nnseal said article,saidheus; ingharingen opening into4 which the sealin g1A memberfis in sorted to cope `'ate with the switch, `.fluid anlautomatic closure whereby said opening- 4is closed when the sealing "member is withdrawn `from the housing.

25. In"asignaling` sealing device,`fan alarm, an electric switch con-trollingsaid alarm, a housing inc-losing said electric switch, a scalingmen'iber extending- `into Vsaid housing to detachably fasten the `article to be sealed, said sealinginember beingreniovable from said housing` to unseal said article, said hensing havingan opening into which the seal! ing` member is inserted to copeatewith said sivitch," and a 1 shutter tending' `t`o` close said opening" to exclude the sealing member* therefrom said sl'iuttcr being `normally held inits open position by therealing member,`

and Said Shutter being free toinoveto its closed position when thesealingmember isI withdrawn from thehousing.

6. In a signaling sea-ling device, an alarm, an@ electric switch controlling" said alarm, a housing inclosingsaid electricswitch, a seal` ing member extending into said housing'to detachably fasten `the article to be sealed,` said` sealing member being ren'iovable from saidhousing to unseal said article, said housing having an opening into which said scaling member' is inserted to cooperate with said switch, and a pivotally mounted shutter arranged in said housing to form a closure for said opening said shutter being normally held in its open position by engaging the sealing` member and being tree to move to itsclosed position when the sealing member is withdrawn from the housing.

7 In a signaling sealing device, an alarm, an electric switch controlling said alarm, a housing inclosing said switch, a sealing member movable in said housing to actuate said switch, the seal being broken or unsealed by movingsaid sealing member to actuate the switch, and means preventing restoration of said sealing member after it has been moved to break the seal.

8. In a signaling sealing device, a housexterior of said housing and extending into said` housing to control said electric switch.

9. In a signaling sealing device, a hous ing, an electric switch in said housing, a signal under the control of said switch, a shackle adapted to be secured to the article to besealed, said shackle being provided with a loop, a keeper in the form of a' staple adapted to receive said loop to fasten the shackle, and a combined latch pin and sealing pin inserted into said staple and arranged over said loop to fasten the shackle to the staple; a portion of said pin being ex- 'tendedy into said housing to control said switch.

10. In a signaling sealing device, a housing, an electric switch in said housing, a signalv under the control of said switch, a shackle located at the exterior of said housing and adapted to be secured to the article to be sealed, said shackle being provided with a loop, a fixed keep-er in the form of a staple located at the exterior of the housing and adapted vto receive said shackle to fasten the article to be sealed, and a combined latch pinand sealing pin coperating with said loop and staple to/fasten theshackle at the exterior of the housing, a portion of said pin being extended into said housing to control said switch, and said pin being free to be withdrawn from said housing, so as to permit quick removal of the shackle from the staple.

ll. In a signaling sealing device, an alarm, electrical means controlling said alarm, said means including a yielding switch member, a housing inclosiug said switch member, and a movable sealing member extending into said housing, said switch member being actuated by said sealing member, said housing having a closure and only one of said members being secured to said closure, the other member being secured to a relatively fixed part of the housing so as to provide for the release of said switch member from said sealing member when the closure is moved to its open position.

l2. In a signaling sealing devicc,analarm` electrical means controlling said alarm, said means including a yielding switch member, a housing inclosing said switch member, and a movable sealing member extending into said housing, said switch member being actuated by said sealing member, said l1ousing having a closure and the yielding switch member being secured to said closure, a relatively fixed portion of the housing being provided with an opening for the reception of said sealing member, and said yielding switch member being movable away from said sealing member to provide for the release of said switch member when the elosure is moved to its open position.

13. In a signaling sealing device, an alarm, electrical means controlling said alarm, said means including a yielding switch member, a housing inclosing said switch member, and a movable sealing member extending into said housing, said switch member being actuated by said sealing member, said housing having a closure and a relatively fixed w'all provided with an opening for the reception of said sealing member, said yielding switch member being secured to said closure and said sealing member being mounted in the opening in said relatively fixed wall, and said yielding switch member being movable independently of said sealing member to provide for the removal of the switch member from said sealing member.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I hereunto affix my signature.

GEORGE r. MODONNELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ave cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

